The Ethics of Stem Cell Research Essay example -- Genetic Engineering

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), stem cells are 1 "Cells with the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells." Stem cells are basically unspecialized cells that can, with proper physiologic or experimental conditions, become specialized cells. Specialized cells are usually called differentiated cells. These differentiated cells can then be used to repair damaged cells and eventually cure many diseases and disorders in humans. This could revolutionize the way society treats health issues. Instead of trying to destroy and sure a disease or disorder, doctors could simply grow new cells that would be able to repair or replace the damaged cells and tissue. Adult Stem Cells There are two major types of stem cells, embryonic and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are the undifferentiated cells that are found in tissue and organs in adults. These cells are usually found mixed in with differentiated cells. These cells are used to repair and maintain the tissue in which they are found. Research of adult stem cells began in the 1960?s when scientists discovered them in bone marrow. Stem cells from bone marrow have been used in transplants for the past 30 years. Currently, scientists are unsure as to how adult stem cells develop. A major advantage to using adult stem cells is that each patient?s stem cells can be extracted, grown, and then reinserted into their body. This would ensure that the immune system would not reject the new cells. One of the problems with adult stem cells is that there are a very few number of stem cells in a sample of tissue. Another problem is that scientists are unsure about the flexibility of adult stem cells. Since they are found only i... ...ws-item94.htm >. Stem Cell Basics. 2002. National Institutes of Health (NIH). 16 Nov. 2003. ?Stem Cell Debate Revives an Old Ideological Battle,? New York Times [NY] 6 Jul. 2001. first ed.: A17 ?Stem Cell Research; Global Differences: As the U.S. Hesitates, Other Countries Move Ahead With Studies on Embryos,? San Jose Mercury News [CA] 7 May 2002, morning final: 1E. ?Tangled Issues In Congress: Cloning and Stem Cell Study,? New York Times [NY] 31 Jul 2001, first ed.: A17 ?Use of Cloning to Tailor Treatment Has Big Hurdles, Including Cost,? New York Times [NY] 18 Dec. 2001 first ed.: F2 What Are Stem Cells and What are They Used For? 2002. How Stuff Works. 15 Nov. 2003. . P1.http://www4.od.nih.gov/stemcell/figure1_primer0902big.jpg

Original Writing Essay

A boy wearing spectacles who was very fat and dressed in what looked like a school uniform, found himself lying on a long white beach. He sat up rubbing the back of his head, which he must have bumped. He looked out to the ocean wondering where on earth he could be. The last thing he could remember was looking out the plane window and seeing the wing on fire. He must have blacked out then. He wiped the sweat away from his brow, as it was the hottest weather he had ever been in. After a while of sitting there and looking out into the ocean, The fat boy pulled himself up, and looked around. Behind him all he saw was thick forest, with palm trees and weird looking plants which he had never seen or heard of before. He felt starving hungry, so he decided to go and look for something to eat. As he started to venture into the forest, He saw weird looking fruits that were just in arms reach, so he picked a few down, and started to eat them. He liked the taste, so he picked some more. He then heard a rustling in undergrowth next to him. Someone was coming! He thought that it could be another person from the plane crash so he shouted out into the undergrowth, â€Å"Hi!† He stood there with a fruit in his hand, and a load of it round his mouth and then another boy about the same age as him (about 13) crawled out of the undergrowth. He looked up at him, looked down again, picked himself up and carried on walking straight past him. â€Å"Hey!† the fat boy shouted after him. He ran to catch up with him and he asked him his name. â€Å"Ralph,† he said. Ralph did not make the acquaintance of asking the fat boy’s name. Ralph was taller than he was, but thin and he looked like he could make a boxer because of the heaviness and width of his shoulders. He was very fair too. â€Å"Where’s the man with the megaphone?† the fat boy asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. â€Å"Perhaps there aren’t any adults anywhere.† â€Å"What about the pilot?† The fat boy said, and Ralph replied, â€Å"the planes not here, so he must’ve flown off.† â€Å"No, I saw flames coming out of the wing.† Ralph grinned, suddenly realising something to himself. â€Å"What?† I said. â€Å"No grownups,† he said quietly to himself. â€Å"No grownups!† This time he shouted it joyfully. But the fat boy felt daunted by the fact that there were no grownups. The two of them carried on walking in the blistering heat along the white sand and beside them was what looked like miles of jungle. â€Å"I think we’re on a island.† Ralph said to the fat boy. â€Å"I climbed up on a rock and looked around and all I could see was the ocean.† â€Å"So were stuck here.† The fat boy muttered to himself. Ralph did not hear. They both carried on walking along the beach, half looking for anybody else that survived the crash (or at least they thought it was a crash). â€Å"There must be others here, you haven’t seen any have you?† the fat boy said to Ralph. Ralph shook his head. â€Å"We ought to make a list of everybody, know all their names. We ought to have a meeting.† The fat said this hoping Ralph would ask him his name, but Ralph did not take the hint, so he was forced to continue. â€Å"I don’t care what everybody calls me, as long as they don’t call me what they used to call me at school.† Ralph was suddenly interested, â€Å"what was that?† The fat boy leaned towards Ralph and whispered in Ralph’s ear, â€Å"they used to call me Piggy.† Ralph jumped up with a howl of laughter, â€Å"Piggy!† he screeched. â€Å"Piggy, piggy, piggy!† â€Å"Ralph don’t.† â€Å"Please!† â€Å"Piggy, Piggy, Piggy!† Then Ralph fell on the sand in fits of laughter. â€Å"Okay as long as you don’t tell the others.† Ralph was still laughing. Piggy decided to go back into the forest and get some more fruit, so he went, picked some and when he came back he found Ralph swimming in a pool of water with little shoals of fish, darting back and forth. Piggy felt green with envy to how Ralph was swimming as he wished he could swim like that. His auntie had told him he wasn’t allowed to swim because of his asthma so he had never swum before. Ralph swam very graciously and well. Ralph had taken his clothes off, so, with a decision Piggy decided to as well. â€Å"There!† Piggy said to himself, when he had finished. â€Å"Aren’t you going to swim then?† Ralph asked Piggy demandingly. Piggy explained to him about his auntie. â€Å"Sucks to your auntie!† Ralph replied. Piggy hesitated but eventually got into the water and he stood waist deep and stayed there. Piggy watched Ralph dive under and swim about on the surface. â€Å"How can you swim so well?† Piggy looked at him with bewilderment on his face. â€Å"My Dad taught me. He’s in the navy and he’ll come and rescue us.† Ralph said undoubtedly. Piggy thought for a moment then said, â€Å"how does he know where we are?† There was a pause then Ralph said, â€Å"I just know he’ll come,† and he dived under water. When they had both got out of the water, they sat down on a rock and they put on their clothes. â€Å"We got to do something.† Piggy said to Ralph. He said nothing. â€Å"We have to get everybody together. Do you know how many of us there are?† â€Å"No.† Piggy sat there trying to think. â€Å"What’s that?† Ralph pointed to a creamy object laying among some weeds.† â€Å"It’s a stone.† Piggy replied. â€Å"No, it’s a shell.† He ran over to it and picked it up. Piggy followed. â€Å"I seen one of them before!† Piggy said excitedly. â€Å"That’s a conch. I know somebody who had one exactly the same on his back wall. He used to blow into it and it would make a loud trumpet noise and then his mum would come. It’s very valuable.† Ralph admired the beautiful colour of the conch that was a deep cream touched here and there with fading pink. The conch was about eighteen inches long and had a spirally twist in the middle. At one end the shell wore down to a small hole and at the other end were some pink curved out lips (presumably where the sound came out). Ralph stroked the gentle curves of the shell. It was very smooth. Piggy suddenly got a very excited look on his face. â€Å"We could blow down it to call the others! They’ll come when they here this!† â€Å"How did your friend blow down it?† Ralph asked Piggy. â€Å"He sort of spat. My auntie said I couldn’t do it because of my asthma, but he showed me. It moo-ed like a cow. You blow from here.† He placed his hand on the end with the small hole. â€Å"You do it Ralph. You call the others.† So Ralph lifted the conch to his lips and He blew. The noise of the conch filled the air with a piercing bellow. Once Ralph had stopped blowing you could hear the squawks of the birds fluttering out of the treetops. â€Å"Gosh.† Ralph said surprised. He brought the conch to his lips again. The noise sounded even louder than the last time. â€Å"That could be heard from miles around!† Piggy shouted when the noise had stopped. The noise was deafening. â€Å"Look!† Piggy shouted. There was a little boy appearing out of the trees. He made towards them. Meanwhile Ralph continued to blow. The little boy reached them. Piggy leaned down to him. â€Å"What’s your name?† â€Å"Johnny.† More people were now appearing out of the trees, some about the same age as Piggy, some a lot smaller like Johnny. They all came to Ralph and Piggy, and Piggy went around asking all their names and trying to remember each of them while Ralph was still blowing the conch. Soon there was a crowd. Piggy was still trying to remember their names and Ralph then ceased blowing because there was no more people coming out of the trees. But then Ralph noticed coming along the beach from quite a distance, what looked like a large black creature, but as it drew nearer he could make out clothing and he worked out it was a group of boys wearing black uniform. By now everybody else had seen them and was watching them steadily march towards them. They were all marching in a line and all had black cloaks and black square caps. One of them was walking in front. They came into the group, and the one standing at the front shouted â€Å"Who’s the man with the trumpet!† â€Å"There’s no man with the trumpet, only me.† Ralph replied to him. He turned to Ralph who was sitting down on a rock holding the conch in his lap. The boy turned away from Ralph and examined the rest of the group. This boy had ginger hair, was quite tall and skinny and his face was plastered with freckles. â€Å"Where’s the ship?† â€Å"There is no ship.† Ralph looked up at him. The other boys that came with this boy were standing still in formation. They were all fully clothed and looked pale and giddy from the heat. â€Å"Where are the adults?† â€Å"There are none.† Ralph replied. â€Å"Were having a meeting, join in.† After, Jack (the ginger haired boy (he had told them his name)) had finally let his choir break from the formation. They decided that they needed a chief, to sort out how they were going to be rescued. Immediately Jack sprung up his hand and said â€Å"I should be chief!† But one of the choir boys said they should have a vote. Everybody agreed much to Jacks disappointment. Piggy knew that Ralph would be voted for, just because Jack was so arrogant and Piggy knew they wouldn’t vote for him because he was so fat. Ralph then said, â€Å"who wants to vote for Jack?† His choir slowly raised their hand with obedience. Nobody else did. â€Å"Who wants to vote for me?† the crowd raised their hands. â€Å"That’s sorted then. I’m chief.†

The Prevalence Of Paediatric Obesity - 1731 Words

The prevalence of paediatric obesity has escalated to epidemic proportions, with 28.2% of children and adolescents aged 2 to 15 classified as either overweight or obese in 2015 (Health Survey of England, HSE, 2015). The factors that can contribute to childhood obesity includes genetics and environmental factors such as increasingly sedentary behaviours and caloric intake (Arluk, Branch, Swain, Dowling, 2003; MacKenzie, 2000). Increased obesity in youth leads to an array of co-morbidities including Type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and sleep apnea (Wang Dietz, 2002). In addition, children are psycho-socially affected by this condition and may experience depression and lower self-esteem (Goodman Whitaker, 2002; Janssen, Craig,†¦show more content†¦More specifically, the family-based program ‘The Bright Bodies’ that combines nutrition education, behaviour change and supervised physical activity has shown to have positive clinical outcomes, improving BMI, b ody composition and insulin sensitivity, which were maintained over a 12-months period (Savoye, Shaw, Dziura et al., 2007; Whitlock et al., 2008). Whitlock et al. (2008) conducted a systematic review to determine which interventions effectively reported positive outcomes for overweight and obese children and adolescents, including behavioural, pharmacological, and surgical treatment interventions. For the purpose of this report, only behavioural interventions will be considered. These trials compared outcomes of behavioural weight management interventions to control conditions, with outcomes reported at least 6 months after the start of the intervention. Most patients BMI prior to interventions was greater than the 95th percentile, and even more worrying, in some instances adults criteria for Class I obesity was met. Eighteen trials were classified as either fair- or good-quality and therefore included in the systematic review, evaluating a total of 1,794 overweight or obese youths between 5 and 18 years old. The interventions were delivered in several different settings such as schools (n=5 studies), specialty health care settings (n=5), primary care (n=2), residential treatment (n=1), child sports centre (n=1) and the internet (n=1).Show MoreRelatedThe International Study Of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle And The Environment ( Isole ) Design And Methods1470 Words   |  6 Pagesand parents in England (Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health). 2. 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More than 200 million men out of these were obese and just less than 300 million women were obese. Of the world’s population, countries holding 65% of the population have more deaths due to obesity than underweight. As a result of obesity, every year 2.8 million adults die from destructive consequential burdens like diabetes that has 44% of